UPDATE — December 17, 2018: Last week, Fox News host Tucker Carlson cost the network an advertiser when he said poor immigrants make the U.S. "dirtier."

Carlson began his commentary by arguing that the U.S.' current immigration system has a negative impact on the economy. Then he continued:

"Our leaders demand that you shut up and accept this... We have a moral obligation to admit the world's poor, they tell us, even if it makes our own country poorer, and dirtier, and more divided. Immigration is a form of atonement."

Carlson added: "They're nice people; nobody doubts that."

Pacific Life, an insurance company that has been running ads on Carlson's show for about a year, said in a statement Friday that it "strongly" disagreed with his immigration comments, and that it was pulling its ads from Fox News for now:

While Carlson could have meant any number of things by his choice of the word "dirty," recent research has found not only that migrants don't spread disease, but that they help to combat it.

For more on migrants' impact on health, see Countable's original December 6, 2018 article below.

Migrants don't spread disease. In fact, they help to combat it.

That’s the conclusion of a study published this week in the Lancet medical journal.

In fact, most migrants have a mortality advantage, or greater life expectancy, than people in their host countries, according to the new research. This is true for the majority of diseases.

Details

The two-year study found that international migrants are less likely than people in their host countries to die of heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, and other ills.

The exceptions are hepatitis, tuberculosis, and HIV. However, the study also found that these infections are generally only spread within the affected immigrant communities, and not to the wider population. The study authors further noted that conditions in refugee camps and detention centers can lead to undervaccination and the spread of infectious disease.

The authors also point out that immigrants make up a substantial portion of the healthcare workforce, including in the U.S. A report published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 16 percent of healthcare workers in the U.S. were born somewhere else, including 29 percent of physicians, 16 percent of registered nurses, 20 percent of pharmacists, 24 percent of dentists, and 23 percent of nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides. As one of the authors observed:

“One of the things the report clearly establishes is high-income countries are hugely dependent on migrants from low-income countries for medical care, teaching and caring for grandparents.”

Why it matters

Some of the rhetoric about migrants – including the group currently making its way through Mexico – might lead some to believe that migrants are a threat to American health,a strain on the health care system, and damaging to the economy.

This research found that to be untrue.

What do you think?

Does this research affect your views on immigration? Why or why not? Tell your reps what you think, then share your thoughts below.

Obviously no liberal watches the news! A third of them have tubucularodis ir HIV! Many are caring parasites in their digestive tracts! And that’s been proven! The U.S Government has doctors and military medics on site as well as Mexico have health officials in their side! Where the hell have you been?

We can’t say no 100%. There may be unique diseases to certain parts of the world that can be introduced via people of other countries. Just like foreign animals can introduce new diseases so can humans for other parts of the world. Let’s not forget how the Spanish and the European settlers that can to America (the entire continent) carrying diseases the nearly or entirely wiped out whole civilizations. Now in days, it would be at a lesser scale, but who’s to say a new disease can’t cause a big issue.

I can’t believe Countable is spreading this crap. This is such an arbitrary, ridiculous study. I truly hope that someone within the Countable Organization reads this comment. Although you often share accurate, prompt information, it is increasingly clear where this company stands on the ideological spectrum: Countable is a liberal/Democrat run company. Please, try harder to present yourselves as an objective, accurate, non biased, non partisan news outlet. I love what you do, but I must say I sometimes won’t use this app for days at a time because of how obvious your liberal leanings are sometimes.

I think this research’s conclusions have some bias which I agree with, but let me clarify that a bit. Migrants absolutely spread disease. But what’s missed in political talking points is that they’re unlikely to spread disease any more than the population they’re migrating to. This research shows that integrating migrants can actually improve rates of natural immunization which is very encouraging.

Only ignorance and racism promote this view. No reasonable person ever believed it. Even this science will not shut up “those” people. They don’t “believe” in science anyway. It’s nice to see the research proof though.

I honestly don’t believe the study. These people come from underdeveloped countries in harsh conditions with lower life expectancies than the US, and want to come to the US for the economic opportunities it offers. Doesn’t add up but generally dem studies simply support the dem narrative regardless of facts.

Lol what? It says that they’re less likely to have diseases that aren’t contagious, but more likely to have diseases that are contagious, which are the worst types pertaining to spreading, obviously. The ones listed above are very deadly. If anything, this hurts the argument for open borders even more. It was never a good argument anyway though.

I have already supported immigration. Republicans policies cause and spread more disease by allowing the less informed not to vaccinate or by not supporting healthcare for all. Also, Republicans desire to create a larger poor class, also helps spread disease, because these poor cannot obtain proper healthcare. And finally, Republicans support for pollution and spewing toxins in the environment, creating contaminated agriculture and livestock and the chemicals in food, causes more sickness and disease than any specific group of people that Republicans want to blame. Conservatism kills! Stop Conservatism and stop mass diseases.

SOUTH AMERICAN ILLEGAL CORRIDOR VS EDUCATED CORRIDOR
We, Once Again, Statistics Are Manipulated To Obtain Desired Results
I look at the reflected statistics given as being biased to portray the results which favor their political views and agendas.
I look at the premise that there are two “Categories” or “Classes” of “Migrants” to be considered and it has biased their report to give a false impression of the two categories of “Migrants”into one with one overshadowing the other. When we separate the two classes, we see where their report in MY option, taint the report to favor their desired result which is to “Whitewash” the “South American Corridor” migrants coming from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and other points South who’ve entered the USA 🇺🇸 illegally with those highly trained and qualified medical personnel coming from India, Europe and other places who’ve followed the law and were processed through the official system, to obtain legally, their naturalized citizenship.
SneakyPete...... 🙀🤔🙀🤷🏼‍♂️🙀. 12*17*18.....

The idea that migrants spread diseases like wildfire is a racist right wing conservative myth to spread their fear mongering to their uneducated supporters who lack the intellectual curiosity to research ACCURATE INFORMATION!!! Intelligent people see thru the fear mongering and understand this is a blatant lie used to spread hate and racism in America. We need to educate the cult and let them understand how their fear and hate is destroying America. Migrants help our country. The real facts show that. Let’s stop the republiKKKans racist lies and propaganda.

As a nurse, I never believed that immigrants spread disease. So, no that doesn’t change my view on immigration. We need immigration reform, we shouldn’t separate children from parents, we shouldn’t have what appears to be internment camps. It’s horrific and I’m deeply ashamed of my country right now.

Migrants do carry and spread disease. If that were not true, then native Americans would still be the dominant group numerically in North America. European immigration wiped them out with disease primarily. Concentrated stupidity to suggest otherwise. God help this ship of fools.